


No Time To Regret (Except All the Time)

by luvsanime02



Series: Cocktail Friday Fics [75]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cocktail Friday, Gen, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-09 23:42:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19486378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luvsanime02/pseuds/luvsanime02
Summary: Sally has a few minutes to think about her life while at her niece's birthday party.





	No Time To Regret (Except All the Time)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the July 5th Cocktail Party prompt found here: https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/post/185931246562/cocktail-friday-post-responses-on-friday-july.

**Disclaimer:** I don’t own Gundam Wing, and am making no money off of this fic.

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**No Time To Regret** **(Except All the Time)** by luvsanime02

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Sally regrets the popsicle almost as soon as she sticks it in her mouth. She’d thought that it would be nostalgic, a cold treat to enjoy during the heat of summer. But she’s not outside, running around her backyard with a sprinkler or eating a hotdog around the fire pit. 

No, she’s standing around in an air conditioned casino, wondering where she can throw away the red, white, and blue popsicle in her hand without anyone noticing. She doesn’t feel young again. The treat is sticky and too sweet, making her teeth ache, and she feels older than ever instead.

Those days are long gone, and Sally doesn’t miss them except when she does. Eventually, she spots an abandoned drink sitting on a coaster and carelessly dumps the popsicle inside. Even though the drink is mostly full, no one’s going to leave their glass alone and then come back for it later. At least, she hopes not, but either way, the popsicle is no longer Sally’s problem. She walks away and looks through the crowds for her niece again, and wonders how soon she can leave.

Probably not for a while yet, she thinks. This is her niece’s 21st birthday party - finally old enough to drink and already old enough to gamble, and so she chose this place to celebrate.

It’s not so bad, really. Sally feeling about a hundred years old isn’t her niece’s problem, and Sally doesn’t want to bring the party atmosphere down, so she’s just… drifting. Hanging around the slot machines, while the rest of the party is currently at the craps table, and she’s remembering.

When Sally turned 21, she was a field medic, and spent her birthday trying desperately to keep people alive after an attack. She was lucky to survive herself.

It’s not that Sally begrudges her niece an easy life, or her choice to work in fashion instead of signing up to be a military officer. If anything, Sally is thankful that her niece lives in a time when she’s able to choose her own career. 

Sally is being maudlin, isn’t she. She wants to roll her eyes at herself, but instead she sighs quietly. Even though she’s happy for her niece, and for this younger generation, Sally can’t help but think about what her life would have been like if things had been different for her.

Better? Worse? Less? More?

She doesn’t know, and she’ll never know - not really. She can only live the life that she’s started. There’s no do-overs. Sally made the choices that she did, and she doesn’t exactly regret any of them - or she regrets all of them. She’s not too sure what the difference is, sometimes.

So, no more popsicles for Sally, and no more carefree wishes. Guess she’ll just have to move forward from now on.


End file.
